Best Places54931, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54931, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
54931 ranks 1,069th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 54931
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
54931's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54931 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 197 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
Where 54931 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54931
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54931 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $121,136, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 54931's effective rate of 1.07%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54931
54931 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54931.
Who works in 54931, and how
Work in 54931 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 54931
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54931.
What the weather is like in 54931, month by month
54931 sees roughly 197 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 21° | 16° |
| April | 54° | 44° | 36° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 59° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 54931
The nearest airport, Appleton International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54931
Schools across 54931 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Readfield ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- New London MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- New London HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54931 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54931 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 54931 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54931
Is 54931 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54931 ranks 1,069th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, cheap car insurance, and few empty homes, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54931 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $353,400. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $121,136 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 54931 safe?
Yes, 54931 is safer than 100% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $121 per resident a year.
Compare 54931 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54931. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54931 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
54931 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54931: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54931: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54931: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54931: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54931 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.